19

This article was published in the October 2014 issue of the Singapore Law Gazette,
the official publication of the Law Society of Singapore
19
Feature
In this article, we argue that making a stronger effort to converge the best aspects
of civil and common law procedure would help tackle one of the most urgent
challenges that international arbitration is faced with today: overly lengthy and costly
proceedings, which are leading many clients to call into question the usefulness of
international arbitration. We think that Singapore should be alert to this development
and will attempt to show how a stronger integration of aspects of civil law procedure
will make for faster and cheaper arbitration proceedings.
A Grain of Civil Law –
Some (Not So) New Chords for the
International Arbitration Jazz
Chief Justice’s Clarion Call
Sundaresh Menon CJ has taken issue with the lack of
efforts by the international arbitration community which
had not acted with dispatch to address the problem of
rising costs although “the past few years have seen
costs evolve from being a key attraction to becoming the
primary bane of international commercial arbitration”2
(emphasis in original). In in a keynote address at the
Chartered Institute of Arbitrators’ International Arbitration
Conference in Penang, Malaysia, given in August 2013,
Menon CJ identified the heightened need for stakeholders
to take the lead in developing responses to the challenges
faced by the arbitration industry,3 including the point on
cost.4 At the time, he made two suggestions: (i) that codes
of ethics be developed and implemented to set uniform
standards for arbitrator and counsel conduct; and (ii) that
arbitral institutions “play a larger role in the development
and implementation of a regulatory framework to apply and
enforce such standards, perhaps by working in tandem with
some of the leading arbitral think tanks”.5
When Menon CJ pointed out the need for all stakeholders to
take the lead in developing responses, he mentioned arbitral
institutions and arbitral think tanks particularly. We believe
that his core rationale is worth to be heeded by all arbitration
Continued on page 24
Singapore Law Gazette October 2014
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24
Continued from page 19
practitioners alike. Arbitral institutions and think tanks may
indeed be the best forums where to ponder on codes of
conduct and regulation of third-party funding etc. Therefore,
these particular issues will not be addressed in this article.
But all of us should be concerned about the increasing
challenges caused by serious delays and exploding costs
in international arbitration. It is in this respect, that based on
Menon CJ’s observations, we propose to take his suggested
problem-solving approach somewhat further.
In order to take Menon CJ’s approach further, we need to
call it to mind. When making the case for a uniform code of
ethics, Menon CJ dealt with the potential counter-argument
that might be raised with a view to “diversity” as follows:
International arbitration is inherently transnational in
nature. It cannot be suggested in this setting, that
each player is entitled to act solely in accordance
with his or her personal code and disregard widely
accepted standards. The values which inform the
ethical norms of any given forum must hold little, if
any, weight in the international arena, where primacy
is instead accorded to the values of transparency,
fairness and consistency in the practice of international
commercial arbitration. These values act as a filter to
draw out the principles which the international arbitral
community finds most favourable and exclude those
which do not serve their needs. The end result is the
convergence of the best aspects of the civil and
common law systems6 (emphasis in italics in original,
emphasis in bold type added).
Menon CJ’s message is clear: the approach to a solution
is not to apply our respective own codes alone while
disregarding the well-accepted standards of others.
Instead, we should be led by overarching ethical values of
international arbitration, ie values that are not only rooted
in one particular legal system or country. Our view and
the approach to be followed must be significantly broader.
A solution to the ongoing challenges that international
arbitration is faced with must draw on all available legal
systems and values. Only then can we reach the “end
result” of a best practice solution, which “is the convergence
of the best aspects of the civil and common law systems”.
Tackling the Challenges of Time-consuming and
Costly International Arbitration
We submit to apply and put into practice exactly the same
approach that Menon CJ proposed for the handling of
widely varying ethical rules, but this time with regard to how
international arbitration can become less time-consuming
and less costly.7 Our proposal is to insist less on customary
solutions that are rooted in one legal system only (common
law), but rather to increase the focus on other well-accepted
solutions (civil law). In our opinion, apart from the values
of transparency, fairness and consistency, as referenced
to by Menon CJ, we should also be guided by the other
overarching principle that distinguishes international
arbitration from conventional Court dispute resolution,
namely that “it is a flexible method of dispute resolution –
in which the procedure to be followed can be tailored by the
parties and the arbitral tribunal to meet the law and facts
of the dispute”8 (emphasis added).
Just as transparency, fairness and consistency act as a filter
to draw out which ethical principles are most favourable
to the international arbitral community, at the same time
excluding those ethical principles which do not serve their
needs, the value of flexibility will separate the principles
which should be considered viable principles to resolve the
other perceived shortcomings of international arbitration,
serious delays and exploding costs, from those principles
which are not. Once again, the end result and overall goal
should be the convergence of the best aspects of the civil
and common law systems.
Discussing the relevance of civil law principles for
international arbitration in a common law jurisdiction might
sound like a heresy to some of us. But as will be shown
below, arguments against this “combined approach”
ultimately seem to lack merit.
Finding the Best Aspects of Common Law and
Civil Law
What are the differences between civil law and common
law? And which of these differences would be suited not
only to further flexibility in international arbitration as a value
in and of itself but to help address some of the challenges
international arbitration is faced with? In particular, which
civil law principles could be best aspects of “both worlds”?
Juxtaposing civil law and common law implies that there
are indeed significant differences between these two major
legal systems. We will elaborate on them further below.
Looking at common law legal systems, it is certainly true
that there are also vast differences between, say, the law
of New York and the law of England and Wales, both of
them common law systems. The same is true for the civil
law systems of Germany and France. Yet we do not think
it is futile or arbitrary to focus on the difference between
common law and civil law because there are certain
common features and fundamental legal principles that
Singapore Law Gazette October 2014
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seem to distinguish all common law legal systems from all
civil law systems throughout.
First, there are structural differences with regard to legal
techniques and methods in common law and civil law
respectively. At the outset, common law tends to be more
inductive and problem-oriented, whereas the approach
of the civil law tends to be more deductive and solutionoriented. There can be no doubt that common law and civil
law have grown closer from these opposite starting points.
The absolute preponderance of statutory law, if there ever
was one, belongs to the civil law of the past. Conversely,
there is a tendency in common law to accept the services
of the legislature and the academia in the interest of
standardisation, rationalisation and simplification of the law.
This tendency is plain and not only in Singapore. At the
same time, the idea of the development of law by the Judge
and an inductive, problem-oriented way of thinking are
increasingly gaining ground in civil law jurisprudence. One
field on which this confluence is taking place today, serving
as a catalyst perhaps, is of course the field of international
arbitration.
Second, structural differences between common law and
civil law are also found in legal procedure. These differences
still remain and despite certain convergence trends, they
are still strong. We shall turn to these differences shortly.
Feature
Is There Anything New at All?
Do we not have all this convergence already? Is it not
already going on? Similar to how the convergence of best
ethical standards is reflected in the IBA Guidelines on
Party Representation in International Arbitration,9 which,
as Menon CJ highlighted, recognise the practice of counsel
assisting witnesses in the preparation of their testimony,
does not, for example, the recently-published ICC Guide
for In-House Counsel and Other Party Representatives on
Effective Management of Arbitration10 do the same to further
the value of flexibility in international arbitration with positive
consequences?
There are certainly many multi-facetted proposals out there.11
And we are by no means suggesting that all the existing and
newly published rules, guidelines and recommendations
are merely of academic value. But all they can do is provide
us with theoretical background, essential as it may be. To
that extent, they are helpful tools. But it is not the tools that
do the job, as we shall explain shortly. Suffice to say at this
point that we are of the opinion that being (more) guided
by the value of flexibility in international arbitration requires
that we are acting in a (more) flexible manner.
Singapore Law Gazette October 2014
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This Problem Will Go Away! (Will it Really?)
Where arbitral tribunals are not being flexible (or not
being flexible enough), thereby resulting in arbitration
proceedings to be slow and costly, is this not less of a
problem of there being too many inflexible arbitrators out
there, but rather one of there being too many inexperienced
ones? Paulsson discusses this topic under the heading
“Ethical Challenges” and in the end even considers it “a
good case for supporting the emergence and recognition
of an elite corps of arbitrators”, whereby he understands
“elite” as a meritocracy and makes the attempt to interpret
“corps” broadly.12 In any event, the objection goes, this is
a phenomenon on the wane, in view of all the educational
measures available today that teach flexible case
management – rules, guidelines and recommendations,
not to forget literature and conferences. Hence it is possible
that the problem will be solved in a few years.
If this is true, then only to some extent. There is indeed a lot
of excellent instructive material fit to enhance the skills and
knowledge of every arbitrator. But just as one will not learn
to play the piano by reading musical scores only, studying
every new arbitration guideline and book and attending
every arbitration-related conference will not bring forth – to
step into the realm of jazz – the next Herbie Hancock of
international arbitration. To play piano with skill, a pianist’s
fingers have to be flexible. It is trite: such desired flexibility
cannot be achieved by mere reading. This ability needs to
be applied. It needs to be practised.
How then should (more) flexibility be practised in international
arbitration, and how will this help reduce the issues of delay
and increasing costs of international arbitration today?
Solutions from In- and Outside the Box
There is surely no shortage of proposed technical solutions.
Some of them helpfully address the handling of proceedings
by arbitrators. They pertain to the exterior of arbitration and
are usually organisational.13
Other solutions attend to the arbitral proceeding itself. But it
seems that many of these solutions focus exclusively on the
principles of one legal system alone (often a common law
system or the common law as a whole),14 while the principles
of other systems (notably a civil law system or the civil law
altogether) are neglected, sometimes completely, but at any
rate, to a large extent. It seems obvious that the end result of
such a restricted view cannot foster the convergence of the
best aspects and approaches of all legal systems. On the
contrary, such a view leads to the domination of one legal
system, thereby excluding the solutions other legal systems
may have to offer, and thus decreasing the total number
of available solutions to the perceived shortcomings of
international arbitration such as costliness and lengthiness.
Such an approach is rather unfortunate, because a really
flexible approach will lead to more variety, which ultimately
means more options to choose from in order to achieve the
convergence of the best.
The Difference between Exercise and Practice
Interestingly, many of the various rules, guidelines and
recommendations referred to above often do factor in
the principles of more than one legal system in a quite
comprehensive manner. In those “fusion” cases, the end
result obviously comprises the best aspects of all systems
surveyed. But it seems to us that many of these proposed
solutions are like – to borrow from music again – collections
of études.
An étude provides exercise material for perfecting a
particular musical skill.15 As such, it is an essential tool, but
an étude is always only an aid to achieve the final skill. It is
not what the audience in a jazz club would expect to hear
from the jazz pianist.16 In the language of dispute resolution:
guidelines, rules and recommendations on international
arbitration are merely of auxiliary nature; they will not make
up for an actual application of a flexible mindset ready to
look at other legal systems and jurisdictions for solutions to
a problem.
In this respect, the aforementioned ICC Guide for InHouse Counsel and Other Party Representatives on
Effective Management of Arbitration is a good example. It
fleshes out many a favourable flexibility principle indeed.
It does so (despite being addressed to in-house counsel
and party representatives) by appealing to all participants
(including arbitral tribunals) to commit jointly to an efficient
case management, so that the dispute can be resolved in
a time- and cost effective manner.17 Without any doubt, this
makes this new Guide highly recommendable to in-house
counsel, party representatives and arbitrators alike. The
appeal to joint interaction and mutual co-operation between
participants, however, seems to be the strength but also
the weakness of this Guide. More often than not, real-life
representation of interests will not allow counsel to play
along, and it is in scenarios like these where the tribunal
may have to fly the flag for flexibility on its own, with an eye
on a time- and cost effective resolution of the dispute. The
Guide does not seem to be made for discordant situations
such as these. While it concedes that, failing agreement of
the parties, the arbitral tribunal will usually have the power
to determine fast and cheap procedures (after consultation
with the parties),18 it does not identify the underlying
Singapore Law Gazette October 2014
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principles by which the tribunal can and should be guided.
As such, the Guide is a most valuable collection of études,
but it does not seem to give the arbitrator a theme and
chords for his own arbitration performance practice.
This brings us back to our submission, which is that flexibility
in international arbitration ought not only to be studied and
exercised in much detail, but all the more be practised “on
stage”, by taking into account all legal aspects that can be
found.
Solutions from a Different Box
It is not our aim to publish a comprehensive theme selection
here. But perhaps this is the right place to identify some
principles of civil law that deserve to be considered when
thinking about the time- and cost effective resolution of a
dispute – a few “chords” from the civil law world, if you will,
which the arbitrator “pianist” can apply as he thinks fit and
on which he can improvise when he must create his theme
in a flexible manner.
Feature
to spend time and (the parties’) money on a lesson in trust
law.
If principles of substantive civil law are not really part of the
discussion about what can contribute to the best aspects of
the civil and common law systems, with a view to flexibility
in international arbitration, then which principles are? What
will further the convergence of the “best aspects”? These
other civil law principles are of course those that pertain to
procedure.20
As opposed to the so-called adversarial nature of common
law procedure, civil law procedure is often characterised
as being inquisitorial. This is because of the much more
active role of the civil law Judge.21 The Judge and not the
parties (or their representatives) lead the proceedings and
investigate the subject matter of the dispute. That includes
the fixation of issues, the examination of witnesses, and it
practically rules out cross-examination by parties’ counsel.
It is the declared task of a civil law Judge to ascertain the
Certain principles of civil law are, of course, principles of
substantive law. They are not really part of the flexibility
discussion. Principles of substantive law are about whether
– to borrow from music again – the pianist knows how to play
his instrument in the first place, not about whether he has
reached a level where he can do so flexibly and improvise
live on stage. As stated before, international arbitration
is “a flexible method of dispute resolution—in which the
procedure to be followed can be tailored by the parties and
the arbitral tribunal to meet the law and facts of the dispute”19
(emphasis added). Without much digressing, however, one
point we would like to make is the – obvious – point that
the challenge of time-consuming and costly international
arbitration will also be met very effectively by arbitrators
whose training and background match the substantive law
of the dispute. It goes without saying that a tribunal that is
familiar with the law that governs the dispute can dispense
with time and cost-intensive expert statements on such law.
One recent example that the authors have encountered
is a tribunal that dwelt on the lack of consideration – in a
civil law contract matter. Another example is a tribunal that
mulled over the tortious nature of a claim which was solely
based on a medical treatment agreement governed by a
civil law system. In a similar vein, an arbitrator who does not
understand that without further ado specific performance
will not be the primary claim in a dispute because the
dispute is governed by a common law system, may add
to the duration and cost of the proceedings. Likewise, an
arbitrator who does understand where a common law trust
does not simply create legal effects between the parties but
avails against persons generally or universally, will not have
Singapore Law Gazette October 2014
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truth, but only as far as claims are made and within the facts
as provided by the parties (the so-called principle of formal
truth). Based on the principle that iura novit curia (“the
Court knows the law”), the parties need not even plead the
law. Where they do so anyway (which some Judges find
preposterous while others find it helpful), the Court is not
bound by any of it even where, based on the same facts, the
parties plead the same law.22
The Adversarial vs the Managerial Approach – More
Chords for the Great Theme
Moving from an adversarial to a more managerial approach
in international arbitration is tantamount to a shift of
paradigm and ultimately means giving the arbitral tribunal
significantly more power.23 Again, this may seem as heresy
to a common law-trained counsel since this move might be
viewed to lead to reduced party autonomy. But not only is this
approach fully in line with the characterisation of arbitration
as being a flexible method of dispute resolution, it also
provides further options for a tribunal to choose from when
resolving a dispute. We have experienced substantial time
and ultimately cost savings with the managerial approach.
Here are some principles of civil law procedure and how
they can serve to render arbitration proceedings less
lengthy and costly if given a proper chance. Not yet another
“étude”, just some “chords”.
Civil law procedure is not concerned with investigating the
facts of a case at the outset of the proceedings in order
to have it “all there”, regardless of whether the facts will
come into play or not. As a consequence, in civil law, there
is no formal pre-trial stage to begin with. Instead, a dispute
comes into existence by the plaintiff’s statement of claim
being served on the defendant. Such statement of claim
must, apart from the designation of the parties and of the
Court, include exact information on the subject matter and
all factual grounds for the claim, as well as a precisely
specified petition. No more, no less. The plaintiff sends his
statement of claim to the Court where a Judge will examine
whether it fulfils these criteria. If this is the case, the Court,
not the plaintiff, will arrange for service on the defendant.
As can be seen from its emphasis on a substantiated
subject matter and a precise petition, civil law procedure
focuses on the parties’ claims under the leading guidance
of a Judge. Every legal claim is based, positively, on the
fulfilment of certain legal requirements and, negatively, on
the absence of legal defences (German: Einwendungen,
French: exceptions) and objections (German: Einreden,
French: objections).24 Hence, a civil law Judge is not as
much interested in establishing The Whole Truth as in
ascertaining whether the claimant presents enough facts to
fulfil the legal requirements of the claim, and if this is the
case, whether the obligor presents any facts that form a
defence or objection. And nothing else.
Where there is a dispute over an alleged fact, the burden
of providing evidence for this fact lies on the party which
relies on its verity. The Judge will decide on the basis of the
evidence thus gained.
While evidence is to be introduced by the parties, by way
of “offer of evidence”, it is collected by the Judge, as an
examiner-in-chief. In general, it is no obligation of either
party to produce documents to another party. Exceptions
apply, but the Court will have to make a respective order.
Fully in line with the concept of a “strong” Judge are the civil
law rules on admission and weight of evidence, or rather,
is the far-reaching lack of such rules.25 Where facts are in
dispute between the parties, admissible means of evidence
are the submission of documents, judicial inspection,
expert statements, and witness statements. Within these
parameters, there are no admissibility rules such as hearsay
or best evidence, and it is solely for the Judge to evaluate
how much weight to accord to the evidence he collects.
Similarly, it is solely for the Judge to “collect” evidence from
witnesses. As it is the Judge, not the parties, who examines
witnesses, there is by and large no room for crossexamination. This is not to say that no civil law courtroom
has ever been the scene of interrogations of witnesses by
parties (or counsel). But where this happens, it happens
because it is permitted by the Judge. Where the Judge
decides to examine the witnesses all by himself, the parties
have to accept it.
In accordance with the parties’ reduced role, there is no
room for witness preparation. In fact, it is strictly forbidden
for a party to prepare a witness and counsel who does so
may face stiff disciplinary sanctions.26 Also, it is solely for
the Judge to decide how to record witness statements. The
usual practice is that the Judge listens to what a witness
has to say and then dictates his own summary thereof.
Unlike common law procedure, civil law procedure does
not consider this a denial of basic procedural fairness. It is
simply for the Judge to decide how much of a reminder he
will need for his later reflections.
In this context, it is no surprise that in the civil law hierarchy of
evidence, written testimony and evidence rank much higher
than any other kind of oral evidence, especially witness
statements. In fact, one can hardly over-emphasise how low
witness statements rank in importance. Without meaning to
give a value judgment about individual witnesses, there is
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consensus that witness accounts, due to their subjective
nature and the fallibility of man, are much less reliable than
any of the other means of evidence. In the same vein, due
to the risk that a party succumbs to the temptation to bend
its testimony into shape, a party cannot be a witness in its
own case.
In keeping with the aforesaid, where facts need to be
proven by way of expert statements, such statements will
not come from expert witnesses appointed and paid by the
parties, but from Court-appointed experts who are expected
to render an impartial (usually written!) opinion. While the
parties do have a say in the nomination of suitable experts
and may even reject an expert (usually for the same reasons
for which a party is entitled to challenge a Judge), there can
be no doubt that the expert is, by design, the Court’s expert.
Consequently, Court’s expert fees are determined like Court
fees, namely by statute.
The Right Sound
Feature
he is not in the possession of the necessary evidence.
Arguably, these cases are rare. But where they do occur,
civil law procedure provides exceptions: for example, by
imposing an obligation on the opponent to submit a record
or document; or where, for want of better means, it allows
evidence by examination of a party, but always by court
order. Being what they are, however, these rarely-used
exceptions do not take up many resources, in contrast to
the common law where discovery and witness preparation
(which may include the parties) often forms the bulk of the
process, and where time and cost incurred in collecting the
facts can be disproportionate to the return.
Furthermore, the application of principles of civil law
procedure relies heavily on the skills and knowledge of the
decision-making body. This is evident with a view to the
management of a case but perhaps even more so with a
view to the decision-making process itself. Where, at least
potentially, the parties plead facts only but strictly no law
because they do not have to, the decision maker is indeed
on his own.
Paper is patient, as the saying goes, and theory and
practice are two very different things, but notwithstanding
this, the above civil law principles impress with simplicity
and efficiency. Greater weight is put on the decisionmaking body than on the parties’ counsel. Giving the
Court more authority than the parties’ counsel leads to
savings of time and costs. Furthermore, the above civil law
principles provide that both the Court and the parties will
only be involved significantly if there is a proper dispute
that requires resolution in the first place. The existence of a
dispute must be substantiated at the very beginning, by way
of a complete statement of claim, and for as long as one
dispute lasts, it can never reach beyond the claims that are
duly made within its confines.
The above principles on the burden of fact pleading and
evidence production also provide for relatively fast and
cheap determination of facts. By reducing the fact finding
to the claim (and nothing but the claim), parties are highly
incentivised to retain in advance and produce later evidence
that is truly relevant to their case, without need (or chance)
to fish for it first.
The overarching concept of a strong decision-making body
– stronger than the bodies that present the case – further
works towards a reduction to the essential, be it at the stage
of witness statements or other means of taking evidence,
such as expert statements.
On the downside, applying the above principles (inflexibly)
would run the risk that a claimant cannot prove his claim or
an obligor cannot prove an objection or defence, because
Singapore Law Gazette October 2014
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30
Nevertheless, in our view, these are best aspects of the
civil law that should be part of the overall picture. Only by
including them in a holistic approach can we be sure that,
eventually, the most favourable flexibility principles will be
filtered out, thus making international arbitration less timeconsuming and costly.
that challenge. We have tried to make our case for sounding
some “civil law chords”, for the sake of more flexibility, to
serve that need. To quote Menon CJ’s speech of 2013
again:
Arbitration emerged as a response to the shortcomings
of the traditional domestic litigation system. For many
decades, it was seen as litigation’s poor cousin. But
today, it has come to be seen as a critical foundation
of transnational trade and commerce by providing the
primary framework for the resolution of cross-border
commercial disputes. I suggested last year that this is
the golden age of arbitration. It would be a shame if we
missed the opportunity to consolidate this position. 30
Where is the Club?
Stepping again into the realm of music, another objection
comes to mind: is there even an appropriate jazz club where
one can play these (not so) new “civil law chords”?
Well, if our comparison of international arbitration to jazz
music is not entirely false, then there should be no real need
to confine oneself to themed establishments. In Singapore,
for example, jazz is performed at such different places as
the Event Plaza at Marina Bay Sands, the Esplanade, the
Botanical Gardens or pubs. Moreover, jazz is fit to be played
ad hoc. But for those who prefer a “typical” surrounding
nevertheless, there sure is such a place.
In its Annual Report for 2013, the Singapore International
Arbitration Centre (SIAC) lists 509 new cases by
nationality of parties, 41 of which (8 per cent) involve
continental European parties, that is parties with a civil law
background.27 140 cases (27.5 per cent) involve parties
from non-European civil law jurisdictions such as Brazil, the
People’s Republic of China, Indonesia, Japan, Panama,
Philippines (mixed civil and common law), South Korea,
Taiwan, Thailand, Uruguay, or Vietnam.28 It is submitted
that all these cases together (181 out of 509 new cases, or
35.6 per cent) are in one way or the other linked to a civil law
system and thus provide a fitting environment to practise
some of civil law’s best aspects. In addition, according to
the Annual Report, 16.4 per cent of the contracts in dispute
managed by the SIAC in 2013 were governed by what is
referred to as unspecified or “other” laws (as distinguished
from the common law of Singapore, England and Wales or
India which are expressly itemised).29 Where unspecified or
“other” law means that these disputes are governed by a
civil law without overlapping with the aforementioned cases
which involve parties from civil law jurisdictions, these
disputes too provide a fitting environment to put aspects of
the civil law to practice.
And one more time, in conclusion:
We have the opportunity to steer the practice of
international arbitration in the right direction31 (emphasis
added).
► Patrick Dahm
Partner
Rodyk & Davidson LLP
E-mail: [email protected]
► Dr Andreas Respondek
Partner
Respondek & Fan
E-mail: [email protected]
► Kevin O’Shea
Head of Legal, Asia Pacific
DSM Nutritional Products Asia Pacific
and DSM Engineering Plastics Asia
Pacific
E-mail: [email protected]
Notes
1
Lucy Reed, “More on Corporate Criticism of International Arbitration” (2010);
available at: http://tinyurl.com/ksdvbjg;
Queen Mary/PWC, “International
Arbitration, Corporate Attitudes and Practices 2006”; available at: http://tinyurl.
com/p6le37u, ch 2; see also Sundaresh Menon, “Some Cautionary Notes for an Age
of Opportunity”; available at: http://tinyurl.com/pczoseh, para 15; Ben Giaretta/
Michael Weatherley, “The Evolution of International Arbitration” (2014); available
at: http://tinyurl.com/l4recj9; Prell & Partner, “Ousting the Arbitrator for Delaying
Proceedings?” (2014); available at: http://tinyurl.com/olnhwab; Berwin Leighton
Paisner LLP, “Research-based Report on Perceived Delay in the Arbitration Process”
(2012); available at: http://tinyurl.com/nasf8ac.
2
Menon, op cit, paras 15 and 16.
3
Ibid, para 17. Another challenge that is threatening fairness and integrity in
international arbitration lies in different concepts of what is ethically acceptable
Why All That Jazz?
The widespread perception that all in all international
arbitration takes too long and is too costly is getting more
challenging by the day. Despite an increasingly competitive
environment – or rather precisely because of it – everyone
in the arbitrating world should feel the need to overcome
Singapore Law Gazette October 2014
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Feature
professional conduct; see Menon, op cit, paras 3-7; see also Financier Worldwide
Magazine, “International Arbitration Roundtable”; available at: http://tinyurl.com/
pgycwqq; generally Alan Redfern, J. Martin Hunter et al, Redfern and Hunter on
International Arbitration (5th edition, 2009), paras 3.227 et seq, 4.73, 5.73 et seq.
Somewhat more recently, third-party funding in international commercial arbitration
– or rather: the current lack of regulation in this area – has been added to the list of
challenges; see Menon, op cit, paras 8-14; Financier Worldwide Magazine, loc cit.
21
In our opinion (which we share with Pejovic), there is a somewhat negative connotation
to this. Saying civil law procedure is inquisitorial because its Judges have a more active
role to play is the same as saying a common law Judge is passive simply because his role
is a more arbitrating one.
22
The strong role of the civil law Judge, its origins and embeddedness in the big picture
is vividly explained by Langbein, op cit, at V (using the example of Germany).
4
Supra (note 2 above), para 15.
23
An excellent summary and comparison between common procedural law and civil law
procedural approach is given by Bietz, loc cit.
5
Supra (note 2 above), para17.
24
6
Supra (note 2 above), para 36 (footnotes omitted).
7
Let it be understood that this is indeed a true need of the international arbitral
community. In our opinion, it would be foolhardy and tantamount to biting the hand
that feeds if anyone in the international arbitral community tried to exploit the current
situation by making money out of protracted proceedings, or worse, by protracting
them.
Where the facts show the existence of an Einwendung or exception, the Court will have
to observe it ex officio whereas if the facts show the existence of an Einrede or objection,
its application will be subject to the obligor’s invoking it.
25
There is a touch of irony in the fact that nevertheless, German civil procedure speaks of
“strict proceedings for the taking of evidence” (Strengbeweisverfahren), perhaps owing
to historical ignorance of common law procedure.
26
With that, the wheel has come full circle and we are back at Menon CJ’s point on the
different conceptions of what is ethically acceptable conduct.
27
SIAC Annual Report for 2013; available at: http://tinyurl.com/mpl9tqe.
28
Ibid.
29
Ibid.
30
Menon, op cit, para 58.
31
Ibid, para 56.
8
Redfern/Hunter, op cit, para 1.73.
9
“IBA Guidelines on Party Representation in International Arbitration” (2013);
available at: http://tinyurl.com/puawavm.
10
“Effective Management of Arbitration – A ICC Guide for In-House Counsel and
Other Party Representatives”; available at: http://tinyurl.com/km8hed4.
11
See also Hermann Bietz, “On the State and Efficiency of International Arbitration”
(2014) SchiedsVZ, p 121 et seq; available at: http://tinyurl.com/mzkgwdh; Giaretta/
Weatherley, loc cit; Steven Seidenberg, “International Arbitration Loses Its Grip”
(2010); available at: http://tinyurl.com/q32dmdr; Peter Griffin, “Making Arbitration
Better” (undated); available at: http://tinyurl.com/k3orxr5.
12
Jan Paulsson, “The Idea of Arbitration” (Oxford University Press, 2014), ch 5.8,
p 171: “It would be intolerable if [such a corps] were a closed shop by any standard
(culture, gender, nationality). Nor could this be a small circle of friends; the needs
of the international community are certainly commensurate with a corps of several
hundred first-rate commercial arbitrators”.
13
Reed, loc cit, gives a short overview and makes her own suggestions – “we can go
farther”; Ben Giaretta/Michael Weatherley, “Ten tips for saving time and cost in
international arbitration” (2014); available at: http://tinyurl.com/k4efk2v.
14
Bietz, loc cit.
15
Merriam-Webster, “étude”; available at: http://tinyurl.com/oo5uks7.
16
For in the world of dispute resolution, international arbitration is like jazz. We do note
that according to Joseph Tirado, mediation is: “If mediation were a genre of music,
it might be described as jazz” (cited in Julian Matteucci, “Conflict or consensus”;
available at: http://tinyurl.com/kmb8zbg). Therefore, we suggest some segmentation:
while proceedings in international arbitration can have a lot in common with swing,
bebop or cool jazz (as the case may be), mediation seems to be more like modal or free
jazz.
17
“ICC Guide for In-House Counsel and Other Party Representatives”, op cit, p 3.
18
Ibid, p 4.
19
Redfern/Hunter, op cit, para 1.73.
20
In the following we borrow from Caslav Pejovic, “Civil Law and Common Law:
Two Different Paths Leading to the Same Goal” (2001); available at: http://tinyurl.
com/mpmxt62. Similar discussions can be found in Javier Rubinstein, “International
Commercial Arbitration: Reflections at the Crossroads of the Common Law and
Civil Law Traditions Perspective” (2004); available at: http://tinyurl.com/mnpmr5e,
or Siegfried H. Elsing/John M. Townsend, “Bridging the Common Law Civil Law
Divide in Arbitration” (2002); available at: http://tinyurl.com/krswvam. For a more
comprehensive and instructive (yet older and somewhat biased) account, see John
H. Langbein, “The German Advantage in Civil Procedure” (1985); available at:
http://tinyurl.com/mq7n9xj. Seminal: Konrad Zweigert/Hein Kötz, Introduction to
Comparative Law (3rd edition, 1998).
Singapore Law Gazette October 2014